High-Councilor, Josack Whiteford
Josack serves as the Lord-Commander of the Hand of Arathor and as its founder. It is under his regime that the order is sustained and managed, in co-operation with both his younger brother and sister. Who serve as his High-Councilors along side him. Despite their occasional disagreements on how a future Arathor will look, they work together in absolute harmony to ensure that the order can achieve it's end goal of restoration. How that end result will look however, remains to be seen. Early Life. Place in the Whiteford Dynasty. Josack, the eldest son of Lord Sebastian Whiteford of Arathor was destined for power. His father owning several fairly sizable estates and holding some sway with the dukes of the Kingdom of Lordaeron, where the other half of the Whiteford dynasty resided. Josack was branded Sebastian's heir from the moment he entered the world, meaning that he and he alone would inherit his father's holdings and retinues. So that he could lead the Arathi branch of the Whiteford dynasty, into the future. Childhood & Education. Josack began his formal education at the young age of six, where the household maids taught him basic common, mathematics and courtesy. Throughout his early years, he would prove to be quite gregarious and confident - always eager to speak and play with the other children. As he reached the age of ten, his education was further broadened and he was introduced to the concepts of basic strategy, swordsmanship and chivalry. As well as the science of Physics, which he proved fairly competent in. However, he always struggled with courtesy - he could never tell when to hold his tongue and what was inappropriate to say, or at least that is how his mother saw it. Most merely saw him as an honest and blunt young boy, who spoke his mind. He was never one to hold a reputation of lying and anyone of his own age who accused him of such, would face his wrath. His favourite of all his subjects, as odd as it would seem, was actually politics. To most children of his age and stature, such topics were dull and uninteresting, better left to the boring adults. He'd often be seen within his Father's hall, listening with intent to the various intrigues, something that would prove valuable in his future - for he accumulated quite the collection of blackmail material, as lords' loose lips in his father's halls told tales better left untold, not thinking that tiny eyes and ears lingered in the shadows. As Josack entered his early teens however, his previous gregarious nature seemed to fade somewhat. It wasn't that he'd lost his confidence - he just seemed to care very little for gathering large numbers of friends and kept a very small, yet tightly connected social circle. For the most part, consisting of women - of both younger and older ages. As for his siblings, Josack tended to play the role of the overly protective eldest brother quite well - refusing to let others so much as make a snarky comment without answering to him directly. Particularly when the comments were directed at his youngest sibling and sister, Adelyna Whiteford. Who he tended to try ensure the boys of her age stayed far away from, lest he knew their intentions were positive. His Teenage Years. As a teen, Josack developed incredibly strong political views, believing that Arathor should seclude itself from the affairs of it's neighbours - not entering in any conflicts that were no direct threat to its own territories and maintaining a strong frontier against all bordering nations. This is not to say he didn't believe in foreign trade, in fact - he was quite in favour of having strong political ties with all of their neighbours, so long as they couldn't be called to war as a result, he believed that through the wasting of men in these foreign feuds, the monarch and the upper tiers of the nobility left Arathor vulnerable to attack from foreign and evil forces. It was also in this time, that he joined with the armies of Strom and served his time throughout the Third War, against the restless scourge and their Burning Legion allies, proving himself as both a competent commander and an excellent swordsmen, albeit a stubborn one. The Third War. During the Third War, Josack served as a Captain within the Lordaeronian army - engaging the Scourge in a variety of locations and eventually travelling to Kalimdor alongside Jaina Proudmoore, alongside many other Arathi warriors, where they engaged in extremely brutal combat with Grom Hellscream and the Warsong Clan. As the initial engagements calmed and tensions between the horde and Jaina's expedition eased - Josack once again returned to his homeland, only to find that Lordaeron had fallen and the grand nation of Stromgarde was but a husk of its former self. Aftermath. As the war ended, the Argent and Scarlet Crusades had been seen fighting the Scourge across the north to retake their lands which were stolen from them, inspired by the tales of bravery - of men charging to battle against countless foes and achieving victory of the Scourge in numerous battles, Josack joined with the Argent Dawn for a time - fighting across the Eastern Plaguelands with great zeal and determination, eager to see the foul creatures driven from his home. But unfortunately, he would one day be forced to retire from his most holy campaign - as word arrived that his father had fallen in Defense of Stromgarde. Meaning that he would have to return home and take up his father's position. Arathor and the Dream of Restoration. Quotes. "From this day forth, you are the hands that bludgeon. The teeth which bite and tear. You are the beating heart of this nation, the vital organ which keeps this nation alive and through your sacrifice and dedication, Arathor will survive." "We owe our fathers a debt, for giving their very lives for the survival of this nation - though we cannot allow the ghosts of their memories to prevent us from doing what must be done. They did what they had to in order to survive and so must we. To those who cling to the old ways, I say this - do not mourn our fathers. For you shall join them soon enough.." "Our flag means nothing, if not held aloft in the hands of the mighty - and it is you who now carries it! So go forth, children of Arathor - show the world the strength and pride of our nation. Stand with me and together we can repel these foul creatures from our lands." "The Horde took Lordaeron from our fathers and now they wish to take Arathor from us! With smiles on their faces and knives at their backs, they talk of peace - but their diplomacy is just another word for thievery. We shan't trade words with them - death is the only lesson which they shall understand. And in the coming days, our actions will make our intentions clear enough."